Yet another TM story
by spacecadet1922
Summary: TM post Day2, but very AU. Rated T just to be safe.
1. Chapter 1

Normally, Michelle couldn't drive alone without music on. But today hadn't been normal. Being bombed at work? Not normal. Asking a guy out? Definitely not normal. Being terrified that Los Angeles would be blown up? Not normal. And that kiss... far from normal. Nothing about her day had gone even remotely according to what she would have predicted twenty-four hours ago, so Michelle didn't even notice the lack of music during her drive home from CTU.

Michelle pulled up next to the curb in front of her apartment building, turned off the ignition, and leaned back into her seat, closing her eyes and exhaling slowly. _It's okay. It all turned out okay._ After a moment, she opened her eyes, sat up straight, grabbed her purse from the passenger seat of her white Toyota Camry and walked through the doors to her building, waving to Hugh, the doorman.

When she stepped out of the elevator, she began, out of habit, searching with one hand through her purse for her key. With the general disorder of the day, her keys were slightly more difficult to find, and she stood at her door for a moment before, at last, locating her key, turning it in the knob and slowly opening the door to her apartment.

Michelle's apartment was small (she preferred the term "cozy") and slightly unorganized (she hadn't come up with a good explanatory term for that yet), but it was home. She planned on moving to a larger house at some point, but at the time being, her apartment was fine.

Standing in the entry, Michelle turned slightly and saw her own reflection in a mirror hanging on the wall. _Oh dear Lord. I can't believe he kissed me looking like this. _Then it hit her. _He didn't kiss me like this. I kissed him. _Resignedly, she walked further into the living room-ish area, setting her purse down on the couch and walking toward the nearest bedroom. As she approached the door, she knocked lightly before walking in silently and approaching the bed, complete with sleeping body inside of it. Careful not to wake the sleeper, Michelle sat down gently on the bed and pried a pillow from the sleeping figure's hands, revealing the head and shoulders of a girl with hair just like Michelle's.

"Ellie..." Michelle whispered gently, running her hands through the girl's dark curls. "Ellie, wake up."

"Hmm I'm awake I wasn't sleeping what?" the girl said, sloppily pushing her hair out of her face.

Michelle smiled and said softly, "Of course you weren't. I'm home. And it's after nine anyway, so get up."

Ellie rubbed her eyes and stared up at Michelle, who was hovering over her. "Are you okay?"

Michelle nodded. "You?"

"Yeah. I'm fine," Ellie responded. "I was really worried about you. When the-"

"Yeah I know. Hey- you jump in the shower, I'm going to do the same thing, and then I'm going to bed. Dishes are yours."

"Fine," Ellie responded flatly, slowly sitting up.

"I'll see you in a couple of hours," Michelle responded, pulling on one of Ellie's curls, then getting up and walking out of the door.

Ellie almost immediately snatched her pillow back from where Michelle had placed it at the bottom of her bed and returned it to its place over her head, blocking any light coming through her window. _Hey, if Chelle is just now going to sleep, why shouldn't I?_

Michelle left Ellie's bedroom and wandered across the kitchen to her own, then into her master bathroom. As she turned her shower on, she reflected once again upon the day's events. _I wonder if Ellie will like Tony. _

Ellie Madeline Dessler was fourteen years old, but looked more like she was twelve. She hardly pushed five foot three with her shoes on, and weighed less than one hundred pounds. She shared her sister's dark eyes and dark, curly hair so precisely that pictures of them at the same age looked almost like twins. An hour or so after Michelle had come home, Ellie reluctantly rolled out of bed and picked up a picture of a middle-aged man that was sitting on her nightstand.

"Good morning, Dad."


	2. Chapter 2

Michelle awoke to the sounds of those annoying birds outside her window and groaned, then rolled over to check the clock on her nightstand. It was just after one o'clock. _I don't want to get up yet, but I'd better go make sure that Ellie hasn't burned anything,_ Michelle thought as she slowly sat up in bed and, after a moment of self-cajoling, stood up and walked into her kitchen, only to find Ellie sitting cross-legged on the counter, drying dishes.

"Hey Michelle," Ellie answered as she set down a bowl she had dried and picked up a plate.

"Good morning," Michelle answered, taking the bowl from Ellie and putting it in the second cupboard to the left of the fridge.

"Afternoon."

"Whatever. So how was school yesterday?"

"Fine."

"Did you get in trouble in math again?"

"Michelle, that teacher doesn't know ANYTHING about calculus! It's not my fault she-"

"Ellie! You know they don't have to let you take that class! They could always bump you back to sophomore math where you belong!"

"I do not belong in sophomore math," Ellie said exasperatedly, shaking her head and wiping a plate vigorously with her red dishrag.

"But you're a sophomore," Michelle said, "even if you are a brilliant one."

"Thanks."

"Eh, that's what I'm here for," Michelle said, shrugging. Ellie threw the dishrag at Michelle and turned to put away the last plate. Michelle caught the rag with one hand just as the phone rang.

Ellie picked up the wireless phone near her on the kitchen counter and stared at it, waiting for the caller I.D. to show up. "Almeid-"

"I'll answer it!" Michelle interrupted as she jumped across the kitchen and snatched the phone from Ellie's hands.

"Dessler," Michelle answered nervously as she half-ran back to her bedroom, feeling a little bit like a thirteen-year-old with a crush.

"You know that you don't have to answer your _home_ phone like that?" Tony's voice said on the other end.

"Yeah, it's just a habit," Michelle admitted.

"I do it too," Tony said. "So, how're you holding up?"

"Pretty well..." Michelle began. "I'm not sure that everything has really sunken in yet though, you know?" _Like helping to dig out my dead co-workers. Yeah... not sinking. _

"Yeah. Well uh, are you busy tonight?"

"No, not at all," Michelle said, glancing sideways at her reflection in her mirror. _I think he's asking me out! Don't be too obvious!_

"Well, how about I pick you up at like seven? We could go get dinner, or a movie, or both..."

"I'd love to!" Michelle said excitedly. _Well, THAT wasn't at all obvious! _

"Okay great, so I'll-"

"Tony?" _I guess now's as good a time as any- this way he won't be too surprised._

"Yeah?"

"Umm, just to let you know, my little sister lives with me." _Smooth, Michelle. That was just pretty much the most random thing you could've said. Now tell him that you had a pet dog named Christopher Cranberry Santa Claus Halloween Dessler when you were six that got run over. _

"Really? Okay."

"Yeah, just so you're not too surprised or anything when you..."

"So seven?"

"Seven." _SEVEN!_


	3. Chapter 3

"Time check!" Michelle's voice rang out from her bathroom, where she stood putting on mascara.

"Seven-oh-four!" Ellie called back from the couch.

"Crap!" Michelle said, moving even more quickly.

"Watch your language!" her little sister called, turning a page of the book she was reading.

"What? Crap isn't a bad word!"

"Well you never let me say it when I was little!"

"Yeah, you were five!"

Their arguing match was then interrupted by three loud knocks on the door.

"Get the door, Ellie!"

Ellie stood up and opened the door to a flower-bearing Tony who obviously did a double-take at seeing this little girl with Michelle's curls.

"Hi!" Tony said after a second or two of staring.

"Hi Tony!" Michelle called from the bathroom. "Come on in. I'm just going to be a minute."

"Uh... okay." Tony called to the voice of unknown location. Ellie opened the door a little wider, allowing Tony to step into the small entry. "So, you must be Michelle's sister, right?" Tony said. Ellie shyly nodded, looking at the ground.

"Tony this is my little sister, Ellie. Ellie, this is my... boss," Michelle said, hurriedly entering the room.

"It's great to meet you Ellie," Tony said, smiling, and then turning to Michelle. "You look great."

Michelle returned the smile. "Thanks."

"Well, should we get out of here?"

"Sure!" Michelle turned to Ellie, still standing silently by the door, and said, "Don't stay up too late. Oh, and there's some leftover Chinese in the fridge."

Ellie nodded, Tony took Michelle's hand, Michelle brushed a curl out of Ellie's face, and they walked out of the door. "See you later, Ellie."

"Bye," Ellie softly responded as she shut the apartment door.

"So, how are you, really?" Tony asked once he was buckled into the driver's seat of his car, Michelle beside him.

"I'm okay," Michelle responded. "It's... weird. I still feel so... drained."

"I know exactly how you feel," Tony responded, turning his key in the ignition and starting the car. "And I hate to say it, but the aftermath of yesterday is going to take a while to clear up. At work and...Up here," he said, lightly touching his forehead.

"I can see why..." Michelle said, nodding.

"Your sister's cute," Tony said brightly, changing the subject. "She looks just like you."

"Yeah... she's just littler," Michelle said, smiling.

"She's tiny!" Tony exclaimed. "How old is she?"

"Fourteen. Almost fifteen. Next week," Michelle answered. _He's going to ask,_ Michelle thought. _Just say it. _

"Wow, I wouldn't have known. I'm no good at guessing ages," Tony laughed. "So why is it that-"

"She lives with me?" Michelle interrupted.

"Well, yeah," Tony answered, unsure of what Michelle's hasty interruption meant.

_Just say it_, Michelle told herself. She took a breath. "My mom left when Ellie was born and I was thirteen and Danny was fifteen and my other sister Kerry was nine and never came back and my dad died three years ago and even though Danny is the oldest he's pretty much screwed up as you saw and plus he's a boy and he never got along well with Ellie so she lives with me," Michelle gushed in one breath.

Tony removed one hand from the steering wheel and took Michelle's hand in his. "I'm sorry," he said gently. "I didn't know."

"It's okay," Michelle said quickly. "It's just, I don't talk about it very often, and I wasn't sure what you were going to think when you found out that I... well, I'm kind of raising a teenager."

"I don't mind at all. In fact, I admire you for it." Michelle smiled, relieved.

"So why doesn't Danny like Ellie?" Tony asked.

"Well, when my mom left, it was sort of because she didn't want another baby, and Danny was really upset and he's always kind of blamed Ellie for her leaving," Michelle said. It wasn't often that she actually said that out loud.

"That's terrible," Tony replied. "Putting that kind of a guilt trip on a little girl..."

Michelle nodded and smiled. _Tony Almeida, I am liking you more by the second. _

"So what grade is she in?" Tony asked as her pulled up to a red light.

"Ninth. She's a freshman."

"Ooh- high school," Tony said, feigning a look of terror. "How's that?"

"It's alright," Michelle responded. "She enjoys having the older grades there- she goes to a lot of the senior classes and study sessions- she's really smart, but she's also really shy, so all the people are a little tough. But she's okay."

"Ah, here we are," Tony said, pulling into the parking lot of an Italian restaurant. "Have you been here before?"

Michelle shook her head. "I don't think so... and I get takeout a LOT."

"Do you like Italian?"

"I love Italian."

"Good." Tony opened his door, but when Michelle reached for her door handle, he quickly said, "You stay right there."

Michelle remained glued to her seat as Tony walked around to the passenger side, opened her door, and offered his hand. She smiled as she stood up and said, "Wow- I don't think I've had a date do that for me before!"

"Well then you haven't dated very well-mannered guys," Tony said, taking her arm in his and walking in to the front doors of the restaurant.

During dinner, their conversation turned from Ellie to Tony's family to shoe sizes to favorite flavors of ice cream to music to movies to ferrets (for a very short time) to second dates.

"I really want to take you out again soon," Tony said to Michelle as they approached her apartment door. Michelle smiled. "Really soon."

"I had a great time Tony," she said, reaching for her keys. "Thank you."

"I, uh, Michelle..." Tony began. "We should..." Tony stopped himself short and leaned over, quickly kissing Michelle on the lips.

"We definitely should," Michelle whispered before returning the kiss to its rightful owner.

"I'll see you at work," Tony said, giving Michelle one last kiss before turning and heading towards the elevator.


	4. Chapter 4

Michelle slowly turned her key in the lock as she watched Tony wait for the elevator. "It's kind of slow," she called down the hall. Just then, they both heard the _ding!_ of the elevator's arrival and her threw her one last grin before stepping inside of it and disappearing. Michelle smiled, turned around to the now-unlocked door, and walked into her apartment.

"Ellie?" she said, setting her purse down on the kitchen counter and heading towards her sister's bedroom. She knocked softly and pushed the door open to reveal an empty room. "Ellie?" she called, a little more urgently, heading for the next most likely place to find her- the balcony.

Michelle walked through her master bedroom and pulled aside the drapes covering the door to her balcony. On the other side of the glass she saw her sister standing in front of a large white telescope, peering into it and slowly turning the knobs on its side. Michelle watched for a moment before knocking on the glass, making Ellie jump away from the telescope before letting out a sigh and opening the glass sliding door.

"Find anything good?" Michelle asked, stepping out onto the balcony and shutting the door behind her.

"Not really," Ellie replied matter-of-factly. "It's too bright here to see much at all, but I have Venus pretty bright. Want to see?" Ellie stepped aside to make room for Michelle at the telescope.

Michelle cautiously looked through Ellie's telescope for a moment, and then pulled away. "Beautiful," she whispered. Michelle sat down cross-legged against the wall of her balcony and motioned for Ellie to come sit by her. "So what did you do tonight?"

"Well I finished my book," Ellie said as she sat down beside her sister. "And I did some math homework-"

"Math homework that you were assigned or math homework that you just did for fun?" Michelle interrupted.

"Um... does it matter?" Ellie said, glancing sideways at Michelle.

Michelle laughed. "You are so weird!"

"Hey!"

"But I love you for it," Michelle said, pulling one of Ellie's curls out of her face and pushing it behind her ear. "Did you eat?"

Ellie's face scrunched up in earnest thought before she said, "No... I don't think so..."

Michelle stood up and offered a hand to Ellie. "Come on, you need to eat."

"No really Chelle, I'm not hungry."

"Yeah but you're too darn skinny." Michelle took Ellie's hand from her lap and pulled her inside.

As Michelle watched Ellie eat leftover chow mein, Ellie said, "So how was your date?"

"Fabulous," Michelle replied, grinning like an eleven-year-old who just got a bunny.

"Are you going to go out with him again?"

"I hope so."

"Will he ask you?"

"I hope so?"

"But do you think so?"

"Yes."

"How do you know?"

"I don't."

"So why do you think so?"

"Hush up and eat." Michelle rolled her eyes before turning around to get herself a glass of water. She watched Ellie do as she was told before adding, "I really like him, Ellie girl."

Ellie looked up and gave Michelle a half-smile before closing the Chinese takeout box and putting it back in the center of the almost-bare fridge.

"What do you think of him?"

"I don't know," Ellie replied.

"Come on... you know something," Michelle prodded, rolling her eyes again.

"He has clean fingernails," Ellie said after a moment of thought.

Michelle laughed and put her glass down on the counter. "I'm glad you noticed that, Elle. Because I sure didn't." She placed her glass next to the sink and turned back to Ellie. "You know what, go to bed!"


	5. Chapter 5

Author's Note: I own nothing. And sorry it's so long, I'll try to update again soon and I promise it'll get better. Please review!

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Two weeks and three dates later, Michelle sat at her station and attempted to stay awake while finishing up the report she was working on. She stopped typing for a moment, putting her hand to her forehead and massaging the area just above her eyes. She jumped when her phone suddenly rang.

"Dessler."

"Go home." Michelle twisted her upper body around to see Tony looking down at her from his office.

She smiled weakly and said, "I'm almost done, I'll be out of here before too long."

"How many people come up with excuses to stay at work when their bosses tell them to leave?"

"People who don't want to do this again tomorrow night." Tony laughed.

"Fine. I'll be down there in fifteen minutes, and if you're not done, I'm carrying you out of here," Tony replied in a faux- angry tone of voice, hanging up roughly.

Michelle smiled as she turned back to her computer and resumed typing.

As promised, exactly fourteen and a half minutes later, came walking down the stairs from his office, coat and keys in hand. "Time's up," he said as he reached Michelle's station.

"Hang on just...a... minute..." Michelle said between clicks.

"I did!" Tony exclaimed. "Fifteen of them. Chelle, everyone else has been home for two hours."

"You don't have to wait for me," Michelle said, continuing to type.

"But I want to."

"Then wait a little longer."

"Michelle," Tony said, grabbing her wrists and turning her chair around to face him. "As your boss, I am ordering you to come with me."

"Fine..." Michelle sighed, saving her report and grabbing her purse from underneath her desk.

"That's better." Tony took Michelle's hand and half-led, half-pulled Michelle out of CTU and into the parking lot.

Just as Michelle and Tony reached their cars, parked side by side, Michelle dropped Tony's hand and looked harder into her purse. "Crap!" she said, looking up to meet Tony's eyes. "I left my keys on my desk.

She started to walk back inside, but Tony lightly touched her arm and said, "Wait. Don't bother. I'll take you home. We can pick up something to eat on the way."

Forty-five minutes later, Michelle entered her apartment with Tony close behind, carrying the food. "Ellie!" Michelle called. "Come eat!" She turned to Tony as she approached the cupboard next to her refrigerator. "Do you want anything to drink? I don't generally keep alcohol in the house, but I've got orange juice, water, milk, chocolate milk..."

"A glass of water would be great," Tony interrupted.

Ellie shuffled into the kitchen, her hair a mess and wearing light purple pajama pants with a light blue shirt that didn't really match. "I already ate-oh, hi Tony," she said, first to Michelle, and then noticing Tony seated at the kitchen counter.

"What'd you eat?" Michelle said as she handed Tony a glass of water and opened one of the takeout bags they had brought home.

"Peanut butter and jelly sandwich," Ellie replied.

Michelle raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure you're not still hungry?"

Ellie nodded. "But I'm really tired. Do you have to work tomorrow night?"

Tony looked to Michelle and shook his head, but Michelle paused before answering. "There are a couple of things that I have got to get finished before the weekend, but I shouldn't be too late. How was track today?"

Tony set down the taco he had been eating and turned to Ellie. "You run track?" Ellie nodded. "What events?"

Softly, Ellie said, "The two-mile, the mile, and high hurdles."

"I did the mile in high school!"

"Really?"

Michelle stood and ate, watching Ellie and Tony, seated side by side, talk about running. Just as Tony reached for his second taco, however, Ellie looked at the clock and said, "You know, I really am tired- I'd better get to bed."

"Alright," Tony said, turning to face Ellie as she stood up. "Be sure to let me know when your next meet is!"

Ellie nodded, said goodnight to Michelle, and disappeared into her bedroom.

"You're amazing," Michelle said as soon as Ellie was out of earshot.

"Yeah... I get that a lot," Tony said, smiling. "But you're pretty amazing yourself, you know."

"No, I meant just now. With Ellie."

"What was so amazing about that? We just talked."

"Exactly!" Michelle exclaimed. "My little sister never just talks!"

"What do you mean?"

"Ellie is almost painfully shy. I could count on one hand the number of people she could actually hold a conversation with. And you got her to open up to you just like that." Michelle smiled. "You know, it's a major turn-on."

Tony chuckled and returned the grin. "You know what else is a turn-on?" he said, gesturing for Michelle to come sit next to him.

"What?" Michelle asked as she made her way around the counter to the stool next to Tony.

"When you, uh... um, when you tell me that I turn you on?"

Michelle laughed and, taking Tony's face into her hands, said, "That works for me," before kissing him, first gently on the neck, and then working her way to his lips. Tony wrapped his arms around Michelle's waist and pulled her towards him, deepening the kiss. After a moment, Michelle pulled back and whispered, "Your mouth tastes like tacos."

Tony feigned a hurt look before turning back around on his stool. Just before he reached for his taco, he noticed a large book sitting on the corner of Michelle's countertop. Reaching for it, he asked, "What's this thing?"

"Oh, it's just..." Michelle began, reaching for the book, "...pictures." Tony pulled the photo album away from her just in time and opened to the first page.

"What kind of pictures, huh? Embarrassing ones?"

"Well, sort of..." Michelle said. "There're some from when I was little..."

Tony smiled. "Then there's no chance you're getting these back for a while."

Michelle returned Tony's wide grin with a sarcastic eye-roll. "Well if you're done eating, we might as well go sit on the couch."

The first picture in Michelle's photo album showed a curly-haired little girl sitting on a swing, turning around to see the photographer, who was standing behind her. "Is this you?" Tony asked, tugging on one of Michelle's stray curls.

Michelle nodded. "I think I was about five in that picture."

"You were adorable."

"Thank you."

Tony turned the page, and was greeted by a glossy 8-by-10 of a teenaged Michelle in a graduation cap and gown. "Your graduation from high school?" he asked. Michelle nodded, smiling. "Where did you go to high school?"

"We lived in Switzerland for my ninth and half of tenth grade years, but I did the last two years and graduated in New York."

"Wow! Switzerland?" Tony asked enthusiastically.

"Yeah, my dad was diplomat," Michelle responded, turning back to the photo album. "See, this one is of me and Ellie, she was five," she said, pointing to a picture of Michelle holding a miniature Ellie.

Michelle turned the page, revealing more graduation pictures, on of which contained three girls. Tony recognized Michelle and Ellie, but the third had lighter, straighter hair than the other two. "Who's this?"

"Oh that's my other little sister, Kerry," Michelle said. "She's four years younger than I am; She lives in New York."

"Hey, she's cute too," Tony said, eliciting a whack on the arm from Michelle. He hurriedly continued, "In that cute little sister kind of way."

They continued looking at pictures; pictures of Michelle's not-so-wild college years, pictures of Michelle's childhood dance recitals, pictures of Michelle's sisters and brother, and lots of pictures of her dad.

"So," Tony said as Michelle shut the book. "Your dad was a diplomat, huh?"

"Yes," Michelle replied. "So, we lived all over."

"Like where?"

"Well, Danny and I were both born in New York City- the United Nations is there, so we were there a lot too- Kerry was born in Argentina, Ellie was born in New York while we were living in Italy, but I think my mom pitched a fit about Italian hospitals or something. That was when my mom left, and after that we lived a whole bunch of other places, but we were back in New York a lot. I graduated in New York, but like two weeks later, my dad and Kerry and Ellie moved to Beijing, China."

"Where did your dad die?" Tony almost surprised himself with the boldness of the question.

"He had a massive heart attack only a few weeks after he and Ellie had moved to Paris. I was working with the DOD, and Kerry was still at Columbia. Ellie was twelve. Not even twelve. Eleven. And she came home one day and..." Michelle choked on her words, holding back tears. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to..."

"It's okay," Tony said, gathering Michelle into his arms. "It's okay, sweetheart, it's okay."


	6. Chapter 6

This chapter is just about Ellie, and made up mostly of a flashback, but similar chapters focusing on Tony and Michelle are coming soon.

* * *

Ellie set her brand new birthday copy of The Count of Monte Cristo down on her nightstand and turned her light off. As she heard faint voices coming from the living room, her thoughts drifted to... him. Tony.

_He runs_. _Or he ran. _ _He's not too bad. For a boy, I mean. Well, not really a boy. He's like 40. He's way older than Michelle. At least I think so. Chelle is kind of old. _

_I wonder if he's kissed her. Eeew... I don't want to wonder if he's kissed her. Why is it that I have such an aversion to my sister dating anyone? I think that I've harbored trust issues from an early age. _

_It's not that I don't want Michelle to date, or get married, or anything. But if she did, where would that leave me?_

* * *

Flashback

* * *

"You are so weird."

Ellie looked up to see her dad, Andrew Dessler, staring at her from her doorway.

"What?" Ellie looked up from her copy of The Brothers Karamazov.

"You're ten. You're supposed to be reading Dr. Seuss books."

Just as Ellie opened her mouth to come back at her father's remark, she changed her mind and the topic entirely. "Where are you going?"

Ellie was used to seeing her dad dressed up. He was a diplomat; he always wore a suit. But this was different. He wasn't wearing a suit, or a tux, or a ball gown. He looked nice, but casual. Her dad didn't do casual.

Andrew entered his daughter's room, sat next to her on her bed, and took her small frame into his lap. "Ellie honey," he began, exhaling, "I have a date."

"What?" Ellie exclaimed. "You're going on a date? With a lady?"

"No with a dog, silly." Andrew said, taking Ellie's book from her hands. "Of course with a lady. Do you remember Abigail Parker? You met her last Christmas?"

"Yeah, I remember."

"I'm taking her to dinner."

"Oh."

"But I'm bringing her back here first. I want her to meet you," Andrew continued, examining his daughter for signs of what she really thought but wasn't saying.

"I've met her." Ellie replied flatly, not bothering to look into her dad's face.

"I want you to meet her again."

"Oh."

"Can you do that for me?" No response. "Ellie? Will you be nice?"

Ellie nodded.

"Thank you. I'm picking her up at 7:30, and Kerry will be here in about twenty minutes.

"Dad!" Ellie protested, finally turning to face him. "Kerry doesn't have to come! I don't need a babysitter! I'm not a baby!"

"I know," Andrew said, kissing his daughter's forehead. "She wants to see you, though. She's just going to come hang out for a couple of hours." Ellie glared at her father. "What? You love your sister!"

"I know, but don't you think she'd rather be doing other things on a Friday night?"

"It's Saturday, and no, I don't think she would choose to do anything over seeing you. So just be good, okay?"

Ellie nodded again, and Andrew stood up, picking her up with him, and then set her down on her bed. "Thank you Ellie," he said as he handed her back her book and walked out of the room.

Ellie opened her book, but didn't start reading it again for a long time.

At 7:15, the phone rang. "Hello?" Ellie answered it.

"Hi Ellie!" came the perky voice from the other end.

"Hi Kerr..." Ellie said, less than enthusiastically.

"Did Dad already leave?"

"Yeah." Ellie could hear major background noise in the phone. "Where are you?"

"Hey, I'm running a little late, but I'll be there soon, okay?"

"Kay."

Andrew Dessler opened the door of his apartment and led in a tall, blonde woman. "Well, this is it," he said. "It's not big, but we don't need big." He turned to the hallway. "Ellie!"

"Yes?" came a small voice from down the hall.

"Where are you?" Andrew called back.

"On your bookshelf."

"On it?" His eyes glanced sideways at his date. "Baby, will you come here for a minute?" When Ellie emerged from his study, he said, "Kerry isn't here yet?"

"No, she called and said she was running late, but she'd be here soon."

"I know, she called me too."

"What is it with you guys never leaving messages with me?"

Andrew ignored Ellie's sarcastic remark and turned back to his date. "Ellie, this is Abigail, Abby, this is Ellie."

Ellie half-smiled, but said nothing. Abigail, however, quickly filled the silence. "I think we met once just before Christmas." She paused. "Your hair is so cute! I always used to wish that I had curly hair."

When Ellie still didn't say anything, Andrew opened his mouth. "Two of my girls have curly hair. Ellie and Michelle- they look just alike."

Ellie stood rigidly, her dad's hands slowly massaging her shoulders. _I hate small talk. If you're going to talk at all, you might as well talk big. _

* * *

End Flashback

* * *

Ellie shuddered at the memory. As she lay on her pillow, she heard Michelle knock on her door, so she hurriedly shut her eyes and pretended to be asleep.

"Hey cute girl," Michelle said softly, opening the door just a crack. Ellie remained "asleep." "I know you're awake, but you don't have to talk to me if you don't want to. I'll see you tomorrow morning, and be thinking of something fun for us to do tomorrow night." Michelle began to shut the door, taking one last look at the silent, still figure in the twin bed. "Goodnight."


	7. Chapter 7

Sorry about the long wait and the short chapter... I'll try to keep them coming!

Michelle left Ellie's room and entered the kitchen. She looked around, debating whether or not she wanted to start the dishwasher. _Tony did load it for me. All I have to do is hit that little white button. But it's all the way over there... _After much deliberation, shuffled over to the dishwasher, hit the button, and shuffled off to her bathroom. _Why does my hair always look terrible just after I see Tony? _she thought when she saw herself in her mirror. _Maybe because he has a tendency to... mess it up a little. _Michelle smiled as she turned on her shower. _I think I just may be falling in love with Tony Almeida. He's not a bit like any other guy I've ever dated. He makes me feel beautiful and happy and loved and... well, every other guy was out the door the second he heard about Ellie. But Tony is so... _Michelle couldn't think of a word.

Michelle remembered her first real boyfriend- Jeff. She was a sophomore in college, he was about to graduate. He was good-looking, and he was looking at all sorts of other girls too. Michelle had cried for three days straight when she had caught him with her roommate.

Her last year of college, there was Brett. He was rich, he was tall, dark, handsome, and... gay. When Michelle had called her sister to cry about Brett, Kerry had told her that at some point in the future, they'd both laugh at how Michelle had turned a guy gay. Well, Michelle still wasn't really laughing yet.

Michelle's mind drifted from boyfriend to boyfriend and breakup to breakup- she hadn't had many, and some were uglier than others, but she'd never forget those first few hours after being dumped- the crying, the M&Ms, the missing her mom. Through all of her previous relationships, Michelle realized that there was one common thread- none of them had ever been anything like Tony.


	8. Chapter 8

The following week, Michelle left CTU and walked to her car, somehow under the eerie impression that someone was following her. She would think that she had heard footsteps and stop to listen, but the mysterious second set of footsteps would stop immediately. Michelle walked faster.

Just as she reached her car and unlocked in, a pair of hands grabbed her, covered her mouth, and flipped her around, pinning her against the car, and then covering her lips with his own.

"Tony!" Michelle gasped. "You scared me so bad!"

"Wouldn't that be 'so badly'?" Tony said, pulling Michelle tighter to himself.

"Never do that again! Do you hear me?"

"Okay. I promise." Tony gave Michelle what he considered to be his cute, little boy face, and she rolled her eyes.

Tony continued. "Are we still going to your sister's meet tonight?"

"Yeah," Michelle responded, pausing for a moment. "As long as you still want to..."

"Of course I want to. Think I could ride with you? I'd just need to stop by my place and, uh, ditch the slacks..." Michelle grinned.

An hour or so later, Michelle and Tony sat on Michelle's couch. They had both changed into more comfortable clothes- Tony was in jeans and a blue, button-up shirt; Michelle was wearing the same half-dressy, grey pants she had worn to work, but had replaced her white collared shirt with a light blue, long-sleeved t-shirt, modest enough to cover up everything, but just tight enough to give Tony some idea what he was missing out on.

"Let me see your hair down." Tony said after a silent moment.

"What?" Michelle responded, a little surprised by the randomness of the question.

"I've never seen your hair down before. Take it out for me." Tony continued, fingering a loose curl hanging down to the side of her face. "Please?"

"I don't usually- okay." Michelle reached behind her, grinned at Tony, and pulled out her elastic, allowing her curls to fall around her shoulders.

"You're gorgeous." Tony pulled Michelle to him and slowly, yet passionately, kissed her lips.

Michelle attempted to thank him for the compliment, but her words came out mushed from Tony's kisses. Eagerly, she returned them.

Michelle allowed him to slip his tongue into her mouth, and she hardly noticed when he flipped her over so that he was laying on top of her.

Before she knew it, Tony had pulled away from her, gasping. "We've got to stop."

"No..." Michelle put her hands on her shoulders and pulled him back to her. "Please, Tony."

"Chelle..."

She looked up at Tony with concern as he sat up, pulling her with him to sit in his lap. "What's wrong?" she asked.

"Honey, nothing's wrong..." Tony struggled for words. "But if we don't stop now, we won't be able to."

"I... don't want to..."

"I know sweetheart... neither do I, but... we have to go."

"Ugh... the meet? I almost forgot." Michelle put her hand to her forehead. "Maybe we can just pretend we were there..."

Tony's face was serious. "Chelle, it's important that we're there."

"I know."

Tony drove Michelle's car over to the high school. As they passed a sign that advertised Hal's Doughnuts, Tony held Michelle's hand across the center console.

"Tony, I'm sorry about... this," Michelle said, exhaling.

Tony looked quizzically at her. "What are you talking about?"

"I'm sorry... that this is so hard. Our relationship. That we can't be home making out; that we have to be going to my sister's track meet."

Tony pulled off to the side of the road and turned to look directly at Michelle. "Sweetheart, I know that this situation may not be ideal. It's certainly not normal. But it's not bad, it's not something you picked for yourself. It just happened, and this is the way it worked out, because you're a caring sister and you're responsible enough to take on the job." Tony paused; Michelle smiled slightly. "And I know that it might take work, but I'm willing to do it. I know that loving you means taking care of Ellie too, and I'll do it. At least I'm willing to give it my best shot."

Michelle full-on smiled and turned to Tony. "I love you."

"I love you too Chelle. I think I've loved you since the day I met you. I just didn't know it until a month or two ago." Michelle laughed. Tony loved her laugh.

Tony put the car in drive and headed up the road. The rest of the drive was almost silent, but they continued to exchange meaningful glances and subtle hand-squeezes the rest of the way.

As Tony pulled into the school, Michelle noted that they were at least fifteen minutes early.

"So," Tony began, turning the car off. "When was the last time you fooled around in the backseat in a high school parking lot?"


	9. Chapter 9

Tony held Michelle's hand as they walked up the bleachers. Michelle, looking for her sister, saw a group of girls huddled together in blue and white uniforms. She scanned the group hopefully, but wasn't surprised to see Ellie stretching off to one side of the track by herself.

They sat down near the top just as they heard the announcer call for high hurdles, Ellie's first event. She took second in hurdles and first in the two-mile, but that was because she was one of three girls running it. Between the two-mile and her next event, the mile, Ellie came up to where Tony and Michelle were sitting.

"Hey cute girl!" Michelle said brightly, nudging Tony to scoot over to make room for Ellie on the end of the row. "You're doing great!"

"Yeah, those hurdles were fabulous!" Tony chimed in.

Ellie smiled shyly. "Thanks." She sat down next to Michelle, who put her arm around her.

"You really are looking fantastic out there. I'm really proud of you," Michelle said enthusiastically, and then leaned closer to Ellie to almost whisper, "Dad would be too."

Ellie nodded, staring at the empty bleachers directly across the field.

The three made small conversation for the next few minutes, and before long, Ellie was back down on the field, warming up for the mile.

Tony put his hand on Michelle's knee. "She's a really good runner. And she's fast."

"Yeah..." Michelle said, leaning her head on Tony's shoulder, but looking off into the distance. "But sometimes, I think that she spends a little too much time running."

"Well, practice is how you get good," Tony said. "And she obviously enjoys-"

Michelle cut him off. "No, I mean, in her life. She runs a lot."

Tony looked skeptically at Michelle, taking her hand in his. "What do you mean?"

"Well," Michelle took a breath, sorting out her words. "When my dad died, she ran. First literally, then figuratively." As she told Tony about it, memories came flooding back.

It was a Thursday, and Ellie had left for school like every other day. School was almost out for the summer; it got out earlier in Paris than in the United States. But as she was sitting in her last class of the day, the vice-principal of the International School in Paris came down to her classroom and asked to speak with Ellie in the hallway.

He didn't tell her in the hallway; he actually decided to take her to his office, but she knew something was very wrong. When he did tell her, she nearly fell out of her seat, then got up, and took off. School officials tried to stop her, but she always had been fast, and before they knew if, she was blocks away.

She turned up a few hours later at home, her hair sticking out wildly and her school uniform filthy. Someone in a suit was waiting for her there, but it wasn't her dad.

Michelle remembered all too vividly her phone call. She was at home; it was 8 a.m., and she was already late for work at district. She had answered her phone, annoyed that someone would be calling right now, but nearly dropped the phone when she heard the news, feeling tears well up in her eyes. When she hung up, she slid down to the floor, where she sat cross-legged and bawled until her eyes were dry.

A few days later, Michelle stood in the airport, watching tired passenger after tired passenger exit the plane. When the plane was near empty, she say a bedraggled Ellie, curls messy; backpack on tightly; book in hand, exit.

Michelle, already crying, had rushed to where Ellie was standing, looking lost. Before even speaking, she hugged Ellie tightly and quietly sobbed into her hair.

"Did you check a suitcase?" Michelle had half-spoken, half-whispered, kneeling to be nearer Ellie's height and pushing her curls out of her eyes, trying to coax her into looking up.

Ellie nodded. "One. There's boxes on the way."

Michelle had only been in L.A. for a little over a year, and Ellie hadn't visited her there, so the entire city, the atmosphere, everything, was unfamiliar. As Michelle drove home from the airport, she noticed how small and alone Ellie looked in the passenger seat of her car. They didn't speak much on the ride, but they both had a good idea of how the other felt. Michelle, occasionally, felt obligated to say something, so she mentioned it to Ellie when she passed the middle school she would attend in the fall and when she got a good view of the sun setting on the ocean, but nothing elicited much response from the quiet passenger.

When they were almost home, Michelle turned to Ellie and said, "Are you hungry?" Ellie looked down, as if she were thinking about it, then turned to her sister and nodded. "I know," Michelle continued, "that airplane food is gross." She stopped and picked up sandwiches.

Upon arrival at her apartment, Michelle gave Ellie the quick tour before guiding her to the couch and putting a sandwich in her hand. Ellie hardly ate; Michelle didn't eat much more, and before Ellie fell asleep that night in Michelle's arms, Michelle whispering to her that it would be okay, she promised.

"It was hard for a while," Michelle told Tony, her head still on his shoulder and his arms wrapped around her. "It took a long time before she smiled again. But it was like she didn't want to actually think about it; she didn't want to get over it. She just wanted to run away from it." She lifted her head slightly and Tony looked her in the eyes. "She never cried."

By this point, Michelle was crying, and Tony simply held her as Ellie's final race began. Tears running down her cheeks, Michelle cheered for Ellie as she broke the tape.


	10. Chapter 10

_I'm trying to get as much done on both of my stories as possible because I'm leaving tomorrow and won't be back for two weeks. This one is short, but hopefully still enjoyable. _

"Well, I sure got lucky tonight," Tony said as he walked up the sidewalk to one of his favorite Chinese restaurants. "I'm out with two beautiful girls at the same time!" He held Michelle's hand tightly and reached over with his other hand to playfully mess up Ellie's hair.

"But you don't get to kiss my sister," Michelle said, faking a serious face.

"Gross!" Ellie muttered under her breath, looking away.

"What was that, Elle?" Michelle said, smiling, having heard what Ellie said perfectly well the first time.

Instead of repeating her original remark, Ellie looked up, making a face.

"That's it," Tony said, opening the door to the restaurant. "No broccoli for you."

Michelle enjoyed watching as, during dinner, Tony and Ellie played a form of twenty questions. "Favorite color?" Tony said, fumbling with his chopsticks.

"Green," Ellie said pronouncedly, using her chopsticks like a pro. "Favorite vowel?"

"Favorite vowel? Who has a favorite vowel?"

"Me."

"What is it?"

"O." Ellie said matter-of-factly. "Come on, you have to have a favorite vowel. Everyone has a favorite vowel. Even Michelle has a favorite vowel, and she's fairly normal. At least compared to me."

Tony looked to Michelle, who nodded and said, "Sadly, yes. I've always been partial to E's."

Tony smiled, still looking straight at Michelle. "Well, I guess I really love U."

Michelle smiled. "I love U too."

"Again, gross!" Ellie interjected, ruining whatever semblance of a moment had been occurring.

"Again, no broccoli!" Tony replied, clumsily stealing a piece off of Ellie's plate. "And by the way, where did you learn to use chopsticks so well?"

"China."

"Oh, right. I forgot. Favorite vegetable?"

"Broccoli."

Tony smiled, and only semi-reluctantly gave some back.


	11. Chapter 11

_Again, not a chapter I'm particularly proud of. Still, comments are appreciated. Oh, and as usual, I own nothing. Even the shoes I have on today aren't mine._

Spring became summer, Ellie finished the ninth grade, the red flowers in the window box that Michelle had tried so hard to coerce into growing had wilted up and died, and Tony and Michelle were more serious about each other than ever. Ellie volunteered at the nearby library a few times a week, Michelle worked, and Michelle and Tony spent a significant portion of their non-working time together, although they were conscious to split their "date time" evenly between time together alone and time together with Ellie.

One Wednesday evening, a worn-out Michelle entered her apartment to find Ellie sitting cross-legged on the kitchen counter, reading a book that looked much to big for a girl her size.

Ellie looked up from the book. "Hi!"

"Hey. Do you never sit in normal places?"

"Rarely."

Michelle smiled. Usually, she would have laughed, but she was exhausted. "Cute capris. When did you get those?"

"They're Kerry's. She mailed them."

Michelle squinted. "She mailed jeans?"

Ellie nodded. "I got the mail yesterday; all of your stuff is over there." She signaled to the edge of the counter where a neat stack of envelopes and magazines sat.

Michelle moved over to the pile. "Well she's weird too. But thanks for getting the mail. I guess it's been a while since I did that."

"Michelle?" Ellie queried, slowly shutting her book and setting it down beside her.

Michelle sensed the sudden seriousness in Ellie's voice, set down the mail, and turned to her sister. "Yeah?"

"Have... um, well... do, I guess...or..." Ellie sputtered.

Michelle walked toward Ellie and ran one hand through the dark curls that were beginning to fall in her little sister's face as a result of looking at the floor. "Just say it, Elle..."

Ellie took a breath, looked up, and said quickly, "Do you and Tony sleep together?"

"Come sit with me on the couch."

Ellie, blushing, immediately attempted to take back her question. "I'm sorry- you don't have to tell me if you don't want to!"

"No, no... I've been meaning to talk to you about this for a while anyway. Right now's a great time," Michelle said reassuringly as Ellie slid off of the counter and allowed her sister to guide her to the couch.

Sitting down cross-legged across from Ellie, Michelle said, "No. We don't. Do you know why?"

Ellie slowly shook her head.

"Ellie, I love Tony. And Tony loves me. But we haven't slept together because love and sex aren't the same thing. You can have one without the other." Ellie was silent. "Tony and I have started talking about marriage." Michelle let the words sink in. Slowly, without looking at Michelle, Ellie nodded. "Ellie, I'll probably marry Tony. So the sex will come. But first, we got to know each other and love each other." Michelle glanced up to Ellie, who was looking at the messy coffee table. She put her hand on Ellie's knee. "Don't sell yourself short, okay?" Ellie nodded. "Say it to me, Ellie."

After a moment, Ellie softly repeated, "I won't sell myself short."

Michelle had been making Ellie repeat after her since she was a toddler- Ellie didn't always talk a whole lot on her own, so Michelle would get Ellie to repeat important information to her, like her phone number or address or full name or sisters' full names, over and over again. The words and phrases and numbers stuck, and so did the habit.

"Come here," Michelle said after a moment, pulling Ellie across the couch to her into a tight hug. "I love you so much!"

Ellie looked up to Michelle's face, half-smiled, and said softly, "I love you too."

They sat like that for a moment before Michelle pulled away slightly and said, "Any comments on the possibility of Tony Almeida as a brother-in-law?"

Ellie paused. "Well, if you marry Tony... what happens to me?"

Michelle was almost surprised at the question. "Well, you'd have to get used to seeing a gross boy in the house..." Ellie smiled. "But on the plus side," Michelle said, "you'd get to stop living on take-out!"


	12. Chapter 12

_Umm... happy reading! Oh, and would y'all mind maybe just letting me know what a couple of your favorite chapters are? Thanks a bajillion!_

It was the fourth of July. Michelle and Ellie both had fond memories of fireworks and red, white and blue Jell-O creations on Independence Days when they were little, but their enthusiasm for this particular celebration had ebbed after their father's death. Michelle had work off, so they went running that morning, and Michelle had attempted to make pancakes. They went to IHOP instead.

At two in the afternoon, Michelle had finally gotten around to (attempting to) clean that morning's burnt pancake batter off of the floor, stove, and wall, and Ellie was simultaneously doing laundry and packing- she was leaving in the morning to go visit Kerry.

A buzz from downstairs startled Michelle, causing her to spill soapy water all over herself and emit loudly an expletive she rarely used.

"Chelle?" came Ellie's voice from her bedroom.

"You didn't hear me say that!" Michelle called as the buzz was repeated. Flustered, she buzzed whoever was at the door on up without speaking, then turned back to her puddle on the floor.

A few minutes later, Tony was impatiently knocking on the door. "Girls! I know you're in there!"

Just as he went to knock again, Ellie opened the door a crack. "Oh. It's you." She opened the door all the way.

"Oh it's you?" Tony mimicked, stepping inside. "What kind of a greeting is that?"

Ellie shrugged. "Michelle's trying to clean up the mess she made this morning."

Tony and Ellie both began to walk to the kitchen. "Uh-oh, what'd she try and cook?" Tony said, shaking his head as he saw Michelle.

"Pancakes," Ellie and Michelle answered in unison.

Tony winced. Ellie giggled. Michelle glared at them both.

"So," Tony began, fishing around in his back pocket. "Who's up for some sparklers?"

Michelle looked up from the stove. "Do I look like I'm up for some sparklers?"

Tony laughed. "Well, not right this second, maybe, but how about if I help you clean this up, then we all go over to my parents' house and eat my mom's food and do sparklers there?"

Thirty-three and one-half minutes later, they left. Thirty-seven and four-fifths minutes later, Michelle realized that she hadn't changed her shirt and that it was still wet. Thirty-eight and three-tenths minutes later, Tony rolled his eyes. Forty and one-eighth minutes later, they left again. A flat ninety-one minutes from the time Tony suggested sparkling in the first place, they pulled up in front of a medium-sized one story with five cars already out front. "Looks like we're not the first ones here," Tony said as he got out of the car and ran around to, as usual, open Michelle's door. Ellie was already half-way out.

Michelle had already met Tony's parents, two of his five brothers, and all three of his sisters, but Ellie hadn't met any of the Almeida clan. Introductions were made, and as was to be expected, Ellie stayed fairly glued to Michelle, but she didn't go into turtle mode as badly as Michelle had thought she might.

While Michelle was busy talking to Tony's older sister, Katie, Tony pulled Ellie across the yard to sit by him on the bench that was against his parent's back wall.

"So what do you think of my family?"

"That's a... lot of people."

Tony chuckled. "Tell me about it. It was a lot when we were kids- now that we've got nieces and nephews involved, it's a small army."

They sat in silence for a moment before Tony spoke again. "So, I um... needed to ask you something."

"Yeah?"

"Well, since I figure that you're Michelle's closest family... I wanted to ask your permission to propose to her."

"Propose? Like ask her to marry you?"

Tony nodded.

Ellie waited a moment before replying. "Well, I guess you almost deserve her. But you're about as close as anyone's going to get to being worthy of Chelle, so..."

Tony smiled. "Is that a yes I can?"

Ellie nodded.

"You won't veto it?"

Ellie shook her head, and Tony pulled her into a side-hug. "But if you're going to ask her in the next two weeks, while I'm going to be gone, you have to make her call me as soon as she says yes!" Ellie hurriedly spat out.

"Okay, I promise."

Tony and Ellie made their way back over to the crowd of Almeidas, where some sort of Jell-O creation had just emerged from the kitchen. Tony stood behind the chair where Michelle was sitting and put his arms on her shoulders. She reached up and held his hand, turning around and looking up at him. "What were you two talking about?"

"Everything," he answered, not completely lying. _My everything._


	13. Chapter 13

"Almeida."

"Hi."

"Hey. You bored again?"

"Yeah. You know, as quiet as that kid is all the time, it's surprising how empty my apartment feels without her."

Tony laughed. "So has anything interesting happened since I talked to you, let's see... fifteen minutes ago?"

"Hey! It was more than that, it was... eighteen." Michelle and Tony both laughed. "And yes, I just saw a really funny commercial on TV."

"Was it the one with the reversible seat covers?"

"How did you know that?"

"I saw it too. Hey don't you have a hot date to be getting ready for?"

Michelle smiled. "Yeah, a really, really hot date."

"And smart too, I hear."

Michelle could hear the smirk in his voice. "And best of all, he can cook."

Tony laughed. "I'll see you in twenty minutes. Be ready."

Thirty minutes later, Tony sat impatiently on Michelle's couch, flipping through her girly magazines. She still wasn't ready. "Chelle? How much longer?"

Michelle's voice came from her bathroom. "Just a few more minutes, I'm sorry!"

"It's okay! I'm just deciding whether or not I'm going to need to shave again before we can go."

If Tony had been able to see Michelle, he would have seen her roll her eyes, but smile too.

When Michelle finally emerged from the bathroom, Tony complimented her on looking beautiful, Michelle ran back to unplug the iron, Tony stood up, Michelle put her shoes on, and they walked to the elevator, hand in hand.

Michelle was just a little bit surprised when Tony pulled into the parking lot of not a restaurant, but the beach. She stared at him for a moment, but came to a fuller understanding when he opened up the backseat and pulled out a recycling crate full of plates, utensils, and plastic food containers.

"Sorry," he began, looking at his blue plastic crate. "I didn't have a picnic basket."

They sat on the beach, eating pasta and watching the sunset on the water. "Beautiful," Tony said softly, staring at the colored sky.

"I know," Michelle said. "I love sunsets."

"No, I meant you."

Michelle turned to Tony and kissed him once on the lips. He smiled, took her hand in his, and turned back to the sunset.

Michelle turned to look down the beach a ways, to where three little children were playing. The two boys were digging a hole, trying to see how deep they could get it before the waves would come and fill it up again. Their little sister, who couldn't have been more than eighteen months old, was toddling around on the sand. When she headed toward the water, one of the boys ran after her, pulling her close to him and carrying her back to the hole. Their parents sat higher up on the beach, watching the kids playing together. Subconsciously, Michelle replaced the blonde children with curly-haired kids, and replaced the parents with herself and Tony. She was enjoying the view when she felt something cold touch her hand. Her left hand. It slid down her finger, and she suddenly realized what was going on as she turned back to Tony.

"Marry me?"


	14. Chapter 14

_Sorry, it's kinda short, kinda stupid, all that. And still not mine. But it's all good. I don't really care if my glass is half full or half empty. I'm just happy to have a glass. That, and I smell like fireworks right now because I've been lighting them off, and by the way, I love sparklers. Especially when you do them with three year olds, because that makes it so much more fun! _

Tony and Michelle spent the remainder of the evening talking and kissing and talking and kissing and kissing. They talked about kids and houses and sisters and months for weddings and rings and fingers and living arrangements and growing old together and living happily ever after. It wasn't until after eleven o'clock that Tony remembered something.

They were back at Tony's apartment, on his couch. Tony was sitting on the couch, his back against the armrest, and Michelle was laying on his chest, their legs intertwined. Suddenly, Tony dropped Michelle's hand. "You have to call your sister!"

"Why?" Michelle said, turning to look into his face. "I'll call them in the morning, it's like 2 a.m. there now."

"No, you have to call tonight. Ellie made me promise that I'd make sure you called her as soon as I proposed. I forgot until just now."

Michelle sighed faux-exasperatedly. "Gimme the phone."

Ellie lay on Kerry's couch, trying to sleep, but Kerry's cat kept jumping on her. She and Kerry had gone to see _Les Miserables_ that night, and hadn't gotten back until late. When they did get home, they had sat up talking for the next hour and a half anyway, catching up on every detail of each other's lives since they had last seen each other. Ellie asked Kerry about work, her boyfriend, and New York, and Kerry bugged Ellie about boys, school, boys, Michelle and Tony, boys, books, boys and boys. Ellie loved spending time with Kerry, but her relationship with Kerry was completely different than with Michelle.

Suddenly, the phone rang. Ellie nearly jumped off the couch. She heard Kerry groggily pick it up in her bedroom and, a few moments later, come stumbling, half-asleep, out to hand the phone to Ellie. "It's Chelle..." Kerry sat down at the other end of the couch.

"Chelle?"

"Hey Ellie," Michelle's voice came from the other end.

"Hi."

"I'm getting married." Ellie smiled, but didn't say a word. "Elle, are you there?"

"Yeah, I'm here. I'm happy for you."

"Tony said that you made him promise to make me call when he proposed."

"Yeah, I did. He told me he was going to that night at his parents' house."

"Oh really?"

"Yeah." There was a pause. "Chelle?"

"Yeah baby?"

"I really am happy."

"Me too."


	15. Chapter 15

The following months consisted of planning and stressing and inviting and a little bit of crying and lots and lots of kissing. On Friday, December 16th, Ellie, now a sophomore, but still taking senior classes, literally ran out of her last period English class and hardly stopped to breathe the entire eight and a half blocks home. Panting, she burst through the front door of Michelle's apartment.

Michelle, sitting cross-legged on the couch, looked up. "Hey cute girl." She patted the spot next to her, where Ellie sat down without even removing her backpack.

"So," Michelle began, pulling Ellie's backpack off for her, "does it feel good to be done with school for the break?"

Ellie nodded vigorously and then turned to look at the kitchen clock. She couldn't read it from the couch, so she walked a few steps toward it. "One thirty-seven," she said. She squished her eyes shut for a moment and then said, "Twenty-seven hours, twenty-three minutes."

Michelle smiled. "Can you not read the clock from over here? We'd better get you an eye appointment."

"Why are my eyes even remotely important right now?" Ellie yelled, or at least said very loudly.

Michelle put a finger to her lips. "Sssh... Mrs. Martin upstairs is sick. She's probably trying to get some sleep." By this point, Michelle knew exactly what was going on, but she wasn't going to end it just yet. She tried to hold back a smile.

Ellie was pacing the kitchen. "Michelle!"

Michelle calmly turned around and said, "What is it?" This was a sign that Michelle really knew Ellie- she knew just how far she could let her go into freak-out mode before having to stop her.

Ellie continued pacing, her breath quickening. "You're worried about the old lady upstairs and whether or not my eyes are going bad but you're getting married tomorrow for heaven's sake and then I'm heading off for winter break while you go on your honeymoon which I really don't even want to think about and then I'll come back and Tony will live here in this apartment and absolutely everything will be completely different again and so tonight is the last night ever that it'll just be you and me here and-"

Michelle cut her off. "Ellie. Honey. Seriously, you've got to stop doing this." Michelle walked over to where Ellie was standing in the kitchen and led her by the shoulders until they were both standing in front of the couch. "Sit." Ellie did as she was told, and Michelle sat down next to her.

Ellie stared at her feet. "Sorry."

Michelle put her hand on Ellie's back. "It's okay. Just talk to me." This was one of the Ellie things that Michelle still struggled to deal with- either she didn't talk at all, or she flipped out and didn't make any sense, so they couldn't get anywhere. "What are you worried about?"

Ellie's breathing began to slow down. After a moment, she opened her mouth. "It's just... everything's going to be different."

"Yeah." Michelle continued rubbing circles into Ellie's back. "But we've talked about how things will work, so there shouldn't be too many surprises. And different doesn't mean bad, right?"

Ellie nodded. They had talked about this. A lot. Tony would move in with Michelle and Ellie; the his apartment was quite a bit smaller, and Michelle didn't want Ellie to have to change schools. And Ellie wasn't going to freak out when she saw Tony and Michelle kissing or touching or anything- married people do that. They had talked about that too.

Ellie pulled both feet up onto the couch and hugged her knees to her chest. Michelle's hand moved from her back to her hair. "What else?" Michelle said.

Michelle was aware that Ellie had never really seen a marriage, or any type of relationship, that really worked. She had grown up with a single father, and she had seen her brother get married, only to have an affair. Michelle was glad that through she and Tony, Ellie would get to see a marriage that went (as she was sure it would) the way a happy marriage was supposed to go.

Ellie looked up. "Are you excited?"

Michelle smiled. "Of course." She paused. "Are you?"

Ellie nodded. "Are you nervous?"

"Not really. I guess maybe just a little. Mostly excited though."

"What time is Kerry coming?"

"Three hours. Are you going to drive us to the airport to pick her up?" Ellie had gotten her driver's permit several months ago, but didn't particularly like driving. She wasn't a bad driver; she just didn't like it. Michelle thought that it was because it stressed her out too much. But Michelle was also aware that Tony was much better at giving driving lessons than she was- she tried to slam on the brakes from the passenger seat too much when there were no brakes there.

Ellie turned to look at Michelle. "Do I have to?"

Michelle thought for a moment. "I guess not. But Kerry would be impressed!"

It was Ellie's turn to think. "I'll think about it." It could go either way.

Michelle reached up and pushed one of the curls that had fallen into Ellie's face back behind her ear. "Do you want to let me straighten your hair tonight?"

Ellie shrugged. "If you want to."

"We'll see what Kerry feels like doing." They sat in silence for a moment. "So, what else are you worried about?"

"A lot of things."

Michelle frowned. They had been over this. "Like what?"

"Like if I remembered to pack everything important. Like if everything will go okay tomorrow. Like if it'll rain. Like if I'll spill something on my dress. Lots of little things."

Michelle playfully pushed Ellie. "Well, quit being such a worrywart. Don't waste time worrying about the little things. Haven't you got anything better than that?"

"Like if Tony will be nicer to you than your last boyfriend was when he got mad."

Michelle didn't think Ellie knew much about that. "Of course he will."

"Like if, between work and Tony, you'll be way too busy for me."

"Ellie! That's silly. You know I'll never be too busy for you."

"Like if you'll be happy."

Michelle paused. "What about whether or not you'll be happy?"

Ellie shrugged. "You said not to worry about stuff that isn't a big deal."


	16. Chapter 16

_Well, this one is considerably longer. Let me know what you think. More TM fluff to come. Have a great life. _

As it turned out, Ellie did drive to the airport. And Michelle tried her hardest not to be a backseat- or passenger seat- driver. Ellie's earlier comment had hit her hard, and she was still digesting it.

"Oh, there's a spot!" Michelle said, pointing to a parking spot.

"It's handicap," Ellie said bluntly.

"Oh. Sorry." Michelle continued to scan the parking garage. "Over there!"

They parked and walked into the airport, then stood near the baggage claim. Michelle scanned the flight arrival board for Kerry's flight. "It says it's on time..."

"I see her!" Ellie said, pointing at the escalator. Michelle turned, and sure enough, there stood Kerry, talking to a bald man who seemed to be encroaching upon her personal space.

"Do you think she knows that guy?" Michelle asked Ellie without averting her stare from Kerry.

"I don't know, but I think that he wants to know her and she doesn't particularly want to know him."

Michelle laughed, then called to Kerry as she reached the bottom of the escalator and walked toward the baggage claim. Kerry turned sharply at the sound of her name, then took notice of her sisters, flashing them a huge grin.

Ellie half-ran to Kerry, who pulled her into a hug. "Hey babe..." Michelle, who chose to walk to her sisters, walked up from behind Kerry and put her arms around her shoulders. Kerry jumped and jerked her head around. "Chelle!" Kerry turned around to hug Michelle.

As Kerry was loading her suitcase into Michelle's car, Michelle glanced over to Ellie and raised her eyebrows slightly. Ellie smiled, and Michelle tossed her the keys. Kerry shut the trunk and got into the backseat. It wasn't until they were pulling out that she jumped.

"Ellie's driving!"

Ellie turned around and smiled, then proceeded to back out of the parking spot. Michelle spoke up. "She's had her permit for a few months now. She's a pretty good driver."

"Yeah, you called me when you got your permit, I just forgot about it until just now." Kerry paused. "My baby sister's growing up!"

They picked up dinner on the way home and ate it in Michelle's living room- Michelle and Kerry sitting cross-legged, facing each other on the couch, and Ellie on the floor beneath Michelle.

"What's your lover doing tonight?" Kerry asked after their conversation about gerbils had ended in an awkward silence.

Michelle smiled. "He's hanging out with his brothers."

"But he'll probably call her within the next half-hour or so," Ellie said.

"Why's that?" Kerry asked.

"Because they can't go more than three hours without talking, unless they're sleeping, but even then, you never know."

Kerry laughed, Michelle playfully messed up Ellie's hair. "You're such a dork!"

But before long, just as Kerry began explaining her recent cucumber-on-the-subway incident, Michelle's phone rang. Michelle jumped up to get it, but Ellie was faster.

"Hello?" Ellie turned to her sisters and said, "It's Tony." She paused again, listening to Tony talk on the other end. "Yeah... mm-hmm...I don't know... c-h-a-r-t-r-e-u-s-e...yes I'm positive... okay here she is."

Michelle, who was standing directly behind Ellie, grabbed the phone from her and shoved Ellie back towards the living room. "Hi...no...yes...no...NO...Tony, I don't even think that's legal!...well, maybe in Mexico or something... okay...sure...alright...I love you too... bye."

Michelle set the phone down on the counter and walked back over to her sisters. "Do you guys want to go get ice cream?"

"With Tony?" Kerry asked.

Michelle smiled and nodded. "He needs a break from his brothers. He said he'd meet us at Danielle's, the little ice cream place down the street in fifteen minutes."

Kerry looked to Ellie, who was sitting on the opposite end of the couch. "What do you say, Elle?"

"Sure."

They walked down to Danielle's. They had apparently beat Tony down there, so they sat down at a corner table, right next to the window, to wait.

"So Ellie," Kerry began, "do you still only eat ice cream out of a cup, or have you matured to conedom?"

Ellie smiled. "I do some of both."

"Well if you remember," Michelle said, "the reason why she used to only eat out of a cup was because whenever she tried to eat out of a cone, she got more ice cream on herself than in her mouth, and it wasn't her choice- she wasn't allowed near ice cream cones."

Kerry laughed at the memory. "That's right!"

Suddenly, there was a knock on the window from outside, and the three jerked their heads around just in time to see Tony sprinting to the door, away from the scene of the crime.

"Wow, you're a sly one," Michelle said sarcastically as Tony reached their table and sat down in the empty seat next to her.

"Nice to see you too, sweetheart," Tony said before kissing Michelle.

"Tony," Michelle said, breaking off the kiss, "This is Kerry!"

Tony turned from Michelle to see, for the first time, Kerry. "Hi! I'm Tony. I'm marrying your sister tomorrow."

Kerry laughed. "I didn't think I was going to get to meet you before the wedding, but I'm Kerry Dessler, and I guess I'm about all the pain-in-the-neck in-laws you get."

Michelle and Tony both smiled. "You and Ellie here," Tony said, kicking Ellie from beneath the table.

They ordered their ice cream; Ellie got hers in a cup, then got some on her shirt anyway. Tony got double chocolate fudge brownie, Michelle got vanilla (and Tony teased her for being boring, so she got sprinkles on it), Kerry got rainbow sherbet, and Ellie got strawberry.

As they were sitting at their corner table, eating ice cream, a teenage boy entered the store, and upon seeing them, approached their table.

"Hey Ellie!"

Ellie looked up from her strawberry ice cream, startled. "Oh, hi Christian." Tony, Michelle and Kerry all sat quietly, surprised.

"When do you leave? You said that you were going out of town for the break, right?"

"Yeah, I leave tomorrow night." Ellie motioned to Michelle and Tony. "This is my sister, Michelle, and her... Tony, and they're getting married tomorrow, and I'm going back to New York with my other sister Kerry."

Christian gave the others at the table a collective hello. He and Ellie talked for a minute or two more before leaving to sit by his friends across the store. The minute he was gone, Ellie's older sisters both moved in on her.

"Who's he?" Michelle said, speaking quietly enough that Christian, still walking, couldn't hear her.

"This kid in my English class." Ellie answered, turning back to her ice cream.

Kerry and Michelle stared for a minute when they realized that Ellie wasn't going to say anything else. "Come on!" Kerry exclaimed. "You can't leave us hanging there."

Ellie shrugged. "We worked on a project together."

"Ooh, what kind of project?" Kerry said.

"An English project." Ellie said definitively.

"Right." Kerry grinned.

Their conversation turned back to the wedding; to their ice cream; to whether or not a plaid tie matched a plaid shirt because they were both plaid. But as they got up to leave the ice cream parlor, Christian, from his table with his friends, called to Ellie again, and waved her goodbye, wishing her a merry Christmas, happy new year, and a fun time in New York.

Tony walked in the opposite direction from the Dessler girls. They had invited him to come back with them, but he admitted that he had left all of his brothers at his apartment and had better get back there before they ran off with the place. "Besides," he had said, "I'd better go to bed early- I've got a big day tomorrow!" As he kissed Michelle goodnight, he whispered in her ear, "And a big night tomorrow." Michelle tried not to blush.

Walking back to Michelle's apartment, Michelle put her arm around Ellie's shoulders. "You like him, don't you?"

"Who?" Ellie asked.

"You know... whatshisname back there..."

"Christian!" Kerry interjected.

"Oh." Ellie said.

"You do you do you do!" Michelle said, sounding rather like an eleven-year-old.

Kerry laughed at Michelle's giggling. "He is cute, Ellie girl."

Ellie smiled. "He's really nice to me."

As Ellie stared at her feet, Michelle and Kerry exchanged a smile above her head. "I'm glad," Michelle said as they entered the lobby of her building.


	17. Chapter 17

_Okay, go ahead and yell at me for leaving parts out... and sorry it took so long to update, I was out of the country again! _ _And as usual, I don't own 24. In fact, I'm pretty sure it owns me from time to time._

The wedding was over; the last lingering guest left. Tony's mother, still in wedding attire, pulled a white apron on and set about cleaning up. Kerry and Ellie sat side by side on the steps before getting up to help Tony's mom. Ellie stubbed her toe, her heels abandoned long ago. A few of Tony's brothers, in tuxes with random ties or jackets missing, the top few buttons undone, also pitched in.

Across the yard, Tony and Michelle sat on the bench. Tony's jacket was hung over the back of the bench, and Michelle's shoes sat beside her. Tony's arms were around Michelle as she leaned back into him, and he was whispering in her ear and kissing her hair and neck. "You know," Michelle said, "weddings are kind of like birthdays, I think."

Tony continued to kiss her. "Why do you say that?"

"They're huge events, ones that you always remember, but it doesn't feel any different. When you turned ten, it's not like 'Oh my goodness I feel ten.' We're married now, but I'm still the same person I was when I woke up this morning."

"No you're not- you're Mrs. Almeida."

"But Michelle Elizabeth Dessler- Almeida doesn't feel so much different than Michelle Dessler."

Tony began kissing her neck more and more passionately. "Maybe I can make you feel more... married..."

Michelle giggled. "Tony, stop... not in your backyard..."

Tony stopped. "Chelle?"

"Yeah?"

"You're silly."

"No you're silly."

"No, you're both silly for calling each other silly."

They both looked up. "Mom!" Tony said, slightly surprised.

"Get out of here," the Hispanic woman said in a faux-commanding voice.

"Ma, we'll help you clean up first."

"No! Just go!" Tony couldn't help but smile.

They changed out of their wedding clothes- Kerry had the assignment of taking Michelle's dress back to her apartment before she and Ellie went to the airport- and loaded their suitcases into the back of Tony's car. They made the rounds, hugging and thanking everyone who was left and drove off, not exactly into the sunset, but it sure seemed that way.

They drove to San Diego. It wasn't very far away or exotic, but they didn't care. Their hotel was nice, but they wouldn't have minded if it was a Motel 6. Once they had checked in and gotten their bags up to their fourth floor room, it was 7:30.

"Sweetheart, are you hungry?" Tony said, sliding the key into the lock on the door.

"Not at all. Are you?"

Tony shut the door behind them and pulled her towards him. "Not for food."

Michelle giggled. "Honey, you left the suitcases in the hall."

Tony reluctantly opened the door again, pulled their two black suitcases into the room, and shut the door again.

"Thanks," Michelle said smiling.

Tony didn't reply- he put his arms around Michelle and leaned forward until their lips met. She ran her fingers through his hair, and he picked her up, carrying her to the bed. He sat down on the edge of the bed with Michelle straddling his lap, and broke apart from her for just long enough to say, "I love you so much."

"I love you too," Michelle said, leaning in to kiss him again.

As Tony reached for the hem of her shirt and began to pull in over her head, on thing crossed his mind- _this is all exactly right._


	18. Chapter 18

_I don't own 24. Or 23 or 25 for that matter. Or Grey's Anatomy. I wish I did. _

The phone was ringing. Ellie ran into the kitchen, jumping over a pair of Kerry's black heels to answer it. "Hello?"

"Hey cute girl," Michelle's voice came from the other end. "You getting packed up yet?"

"I don't leave until tomorrow."

"I know, I was just wondering."

"So, how are you?"

"Great. I'm actually at work right now, so I can't talk for too long, but I wanted to let you know that I have to work tomorrow too, so if it's okay with you, Tony's going to be at the airport to pick you up."

"That's fine."

"Are you sure?"

"Yep. I'll see you tomorrow night," Ellie said brightly.

"Okay. I'm excited for you to get home. Is Kerry right there?"

"Um... yeah. Here she is." Ellie ran the phone to her sister, then went to think about maybe starting to consider packing.

The next day, at exactly 4:11 pm, only fourteen minutes late, Ellie was met at the baggage claim by a grinning Tony.

"Hey Elle," he said, approaching her.

Ellie turned around quickly. "Oh, hi Tony."

Taking her suitcase from her, Tony gave Ellie a side-hug and good-naturedly messed up her already-messy hair. "Ready to go home?" Ellie nodded.

They got stuck in traffic, as was to be expected. When they were still a good forty-five minutes away, Tony predicted that Michelle might just make it home before them. Michelle called three times to see how far away they were.

Tony pulled into the parking spot right next to Michelle's Camry, signifying that Michelle had indeed beat them home. Tony popped the trunk and got Ellie's one small suitcase out, and Ellie put on her backpack before heading up the elevator.

Tony made it through the door before Ellie, who was mauled by Michelle the minute she walked into the apartment.

"Ellie! Oh my goodness I am so happy you are home!" Michelle said, hugging Ellie tightly before releasing her to kiss her husband quickly, then turn back to her sister. "I missed you so much!"

Ellie smiled. "I missed you too."

"Well go put your clothes in the laundry, and dinner will be ready in fifteen or twenty minutes," Tony said.

Ellie did as she was told, deciding not to dwell on how weird it seemed that Tony had just told her what to do.

Over dinner, Tony and Michelle centered a lot of the conversation around Ellie's trip to New York- what she had done, what the weather was like, how Christmas had been, what she wanted to do for New Year's eve the next night.

After dinner, Ellie began to really notice the changes to the apartment. Nothing was very drastically different, but there were little things. Tony's shoes had been added to the pile just inside the door. Tony's keys sat next to Michelle's on the desk, and Tony's laptop was plugged in. Tony's books were on the bookshelf. There was a_ Sports Illustrated _in the living room which Ellie was fairly certain wasn't Michelle's, and other Tony items were placed throughout the apartment. There was actually food in the fridge, which nearly sent Ellie into shock. And most surprising of all was Tony being there. He had hung around a lot before the wedding, but now, he came and went and stayed and cooked and helped with the dishes and watched baseball on the couch.

That night, Michelle knocked softly on the door to Ellie's bedroom. "Come in," Ellie called, looking up from the crossword puzzle she was doing out of the book that she had gotten for Christmas. Michelle entered her room and sat at the foot of the bed, placing a beautifully wrapped present between herself and her sister.

Ellie stared at the present for just a moment before looking up at her sister. "What's that for?"

"You."

"But you already gave me stuff for Christmas."

"I wanted to give you this one in person."

"Oh."

Michelle pushed the gift closer to Ellie. "Come on, open it up!"

Ellie carefully lifted up the present and began to even more carefully unwrap it.

"We're not going to save the paper!" Michelle said sarcastically.

Ellie laughed and hurried it up a little bit. When she pulled away the tissue paper, she found in her hands a framed picture of herself and herself, when she was about six, with her dad. She was standing on his much larger feet, and he was dancing with her. Ellie ran her fingers over her dad's face in the picture.

"I never knew you had this..."

Michelle smiled. "I had completely forgotten about it too. I was cleaning out half of my closet for Tony and I found it in a box of old stuff."

Ellie looked up, smiling genuinely. "Thanks, Chelle. I love it."

Michelle hugged her sister. "I'm glad." She paused, and then continued. "There's something else too."

Ellie looked puzzled until Michelle pulled, out of the pocket on her light blue sweatshirt, another photograph. This one wasn't framed, in fact, it had a fold down the middle. Ellie saw the back first- it was plain white except for some illegible pencil scrawls in the corner. Michelle handed it to Ellie, who slowly unfolded it and stared at the fading picture.

In it stood a man and a woman. Immediately, she recognized the man as her father, but she had never seen the woman before. She gasped in realization as she noticed that the woman was in a wedding dress. She looked up at Michelle, not saying a word.

Michelle fought tears. "I know what you've said... and what she did... but she's your mom...and mine...and I just thought... someday, you might wonder... and if you did..." Michelle trailed off.

Ellie nodded. "Thank you," she said softly.

Michelle pushed a curl out of Ellie's face, stood up, and kissed the top of her head. "Goodnight."

Michelle left Ellie's room, turning off the lights on her way out, and walked into the kitchen, where Tony was just finishing up the last of the dishes. She came up to him from behind and put her arms around his waist. "Thank you, honey."

He dried off the last plate, put it in the cupboard to the right of the sink, directly above his head, and turned around. "You're welcome. For what?"

"For doing the dishes. For making dinner. For being wonderful."

Tony smiled. "I love you too. And you're pretty wonderful yourself." He leaned his head forward to kiss Michelle.

After a moment, Michelle pulled away for air and gasped, "Bedroom."

Tony smiled and picked her up. "Yes ma'am."


	19. Chapter 19

_Happy... um, Friday? Enjoy. Not too much longer on this one, I decided how I'm going to end it. _

"Whatcha reading?" Tony said to Ellie as he plopped down on the couch beside her and popped a peanut M&M into his mouth.

Ellie looked up for a moment. "_Little Women_."

"Ah. Has Beth died yet?"

Ellie looked up again and roller her eyes. "No."

"Oh. Did I just ruin it for you?" Tony offered Ellie his bag of M&Ms.

"No thanks. And no, I've read it before. This time is for a class."

Tony looked disgusted. "It's called summer!" He put his feet on the couch and stretched them out, trying to knock Ellie off.

Ellie returned the look. "It's called summer reading assignments!" Ellie looked down at the book and then looked back up. "Have you read it?"

Tony stopped chewing and gave Ellie a genuine deer-in-the-headlights look. "What? Why?"

"How'd you know that Beth dies? Or who Beth is? Have you read it?"

Tony looked at the floor. "Maybe..."

"Gosh Tony, you're such a girl!" Ellie said exasperatedly. Just then, Michelle walked through the door.

Tony looked up from where he was laying on the couch and used his best whiny voice. "Michelle! Ellie's calling me a girl!"

"Ellie, are you calling my husband a girl?" she said as she took set her purse and computer case down on the desk.

"Well he is a girl! He read _Little Women_! Do men read _Little Women?_ No."

Tony threw an M&M at Ellie. "You're reading it!"

"Yeah, for a class!" Ellie said, throwing the blue M&M back at Tony. "Plus, I am a girl."

"I read _Little Women_," Michelle said from the kitchen counter where she was going through mail.

"And you're a girl!" Ellie said, standing up to leave the room.

Michelle laughed. "Yeah, he is kind of a girl. Have you seen him around spiders?"

"Hey!" came Tony from the couch. "Now you're both ganging up on me? Do I need to call Jack?"

"I bet Jack's never read _Little Women_," Ellie said from the kitchen, near Michelle.

"I bet he has," Tony said, tossing a green M&M into the air and catching it in his mouth.

"That's the thing about Jack Bauer. He seems all manly and tough on the outside, but deep down..." He threw and caught another M&M in his mouth. "Deep down inside... he's a girl."

Ellie exhaled exaggeratedly and headed toward her bedroom. "Sixteen-year-olds these days!" Tony said, loud enough that Ellie could hear. Michelle kicked her shoes off and walked over to the couch, and Tony sat up so that she could sit next to him.

Putting his arms around her, he said, "So do you think you married a girl? And how was your day?"

Michelle smiled and kissed him. "My day, or the whole thirty minutes of it after you left, was fine. I got the reports done for Chapelle. And no, honey, I think you are very, very manly."

Tony kissed her back, but after a few seconds, Michelle pulled away. "Now give me some M&Ms."

The next afternoon, Jack entered Tony's office. "Hey Tony," he said, "Have you got the files I needed?"

Tony looked up from his computer. "Yeah, they're ah..." He shuffled around on his desk for a moment before holding up two manila folders. "They're right here."

"Thanks." Jack took the folders and turned to leave.

"Ah, Jack?" Tony said.

Jack turned around.

"Have you ever read _Little Women_?"

Jack looked confused for a moment, and then said, "No," in that are-you-nuts voice of his. "Why? Have you?"

"Oh, no! Course not." Tony answered quickly. "It's just, um... Chelle and her sister were talking about it last night, that's all."

Jack nodded. "Right..."

Tony did his best what-are-you-talking-about face. "What?"

Jack sighed and turned to leave again. "You are such a girl."


	20. Chapter 20

_Howdy guys. Sorry it took me so long to update- I've been out of town, and while I was out of town, I broke a knee, a jaw, a right arm (lucky i'm left handed, eh?), two ribs, and got pretty bruised up. So the good news is, I have a lot of time to write at the moment. Reviews might make me write faster though. I love you all. I think there's like three of you reading this though. Oh well. I'm blabbering. Blabber blabber blabber. _

Michelle pushed the door from the garage open and entered their fairly new house from the back hallway. They had moved in about a month earlier, just as Ellie started her junior year of high school. She was on the volleyball team, and Michelle was amazed at how well she interacted with the other girls. She was by far the smallest one on the team, and Michelle laughed to see them standing in a group- Ellie and a bunch of 5'10" girls. She knew that the other girls made fun of Ellie for being short, but it was all done good-naturedly.

Tony and Michelle had been married for close to nine months, and it had taken a while before everyone really adjusted, but Michelle was happy with how things were running now. It had taken some major getting used to for all three of them, beyond the normal things that everyone experiences in their first few months of marriage. Tony had all of a sudden become a weird sort of semi-parent, but Michelle was extremely impressed with his good job of it. He was always making sure that Ellie's homework was done, giving her the evil eye whenever she was rude to her sister, and even, occasionally, giving her boy advice. Ellie had had a little bit harder time getting used to the new situation. The first few times Ellie and Tony had fought, it had been hard for her, mainly because Michelle took Tony's side.

But today, Michelle was tired. She had worked for eighteen hours straight- it had been one of those days. Tony was still at CTU, but he had sent her home when he found her almost asleep at her station. Ellie had a volleyball game, and she had called Michelle to tell her that she won, was on the bus home, and wouldn't be too long.

Michelle set her bag down on one of the chairs around the kitchen table, and she looked around. The house wasn't nearly as cluttered as every apartment she'd ever lived in had been. It wasn't freakishly clean, but it was pretty darn tidy. There were still boxes here and there, and just two days earlier, Tony had found the whisk in the same drawer as his electric razor.

Michelle heard a key turn in the front door and called out. "Hey Ellie."

Ellie came out of the front hallway and into the family room. "Hi!"

"Congratulations," Michelle said, smiling through her grogginess.

"Thanks." Ellie smiled.

"You know what I was just thinking about?" Michelle said as Ellie sat down on the couch to take off her shoes.

"Hmm?" Ellie said, looking up slightly.

"When you were little, and I'd be doing your hair, and I'd have to pin you against the counter with my legs to hold you in place, or else you'd run off and never let me touch your hair. And then when I was finally done, I'd have to threaten you with your life if you messed up your hair, and then I'd have to bribe you to put your shoes on..." Michelle paused, looking more through Ellie than at Ellie. "You've changed."

"I remember that what I hated the most was when you'd make me wear tights."

Michelle rolled her eyes. "For a while there when you were three or four, it took Kerry and I both to get you ready." She paused. "And pajamas. You hated pajamas."

"It wasn't the pajamas that I hated, it was bed. But pajamas meant bed."

Michelle laughed a little bit. "Yeah. You used to always be the first one awake on Saturdays, and Danny complained so much about the noise you'd make when he was trying to sleep in. Now I have to drag you out of bed."

"Whatever! I'm still the first one up."

Michelle laughed again. "You are such a liar. But at least I don't have to hold you down to do your hair anymore."

"You're still going to do it tomorrow, right?"

Michelle nodded. "As long as there's no kicking or screaming."

The next afternoon, Ellie and Michelle sat in Michelle's bathroom for an hour with hairspray and bobby pins. "I can't believe it!" Michelle said as she did just the finishing touches of Ellie's hair.

"Did you use an entire bottle of hairspray?" Ellie said, looking up at Michelle, directly above her.

"Keep looking straight ahead!" Michelle snapped, pushing Ellie's head back towards the mirror. "And no, I was going to say that I can't believe my little sister is going to homecoming!"

"Oh."

"And that my date for tonight is cuter than yours," Michelle added, smiling, as she stuck another bobby pin into Ellie's hair.

Ellie pretended to look offended. "Christian is cute!"

"Of course he is!" Michelle said. "But Tony's cuter."

Ellie rolled her eyes.

"There you go," Michelle said, setting the extra bobby pins on the counter. "Honey, you look beautiful."

Ellie smiled. "Thanks, Chelle."

A few rushed hours later, Michelle and Tony stood alone in the front entry, watching a dark blue Sedan drive away. Michelle was still holding her camera when Tony put his arms around her.

"So this is what it feels like," Tony said.

"What?"

"I've only experienced homecoming from the other end- I've been to homecoming. I've never sent off someone," he continued. "Now I guess we get to wait up worrying until she comes home."

"Hey..." Michelle said playfully. "We can worry _after_ dinner. I was bragging to Elle all afternoon about how my date was sexier than hers."

Tony's face became serious. "Well I certainly hope that nothing remotely sexy is happening on _that _date... for his sake... I swear, if he lays a hand on her..."

"Tony," Michelle said, attempting to draw his attention back from the window. "Honey, he's a nice kid. Now let's go."


	21. Chapter 21

_I'm really just not feelin this one, but I needed it in here. I've decided that maybe angst just isn't my thing. I don't know. Please review._

Ellie had been home from school for forty-five minutes when she got the phone call. She was a senior, so she got out a little bit earlier than the rest of the school, and she had been sitting at the table doing calculus homework when the phone rang.

She reached over her binders to where it was sitting. "Hello?"

"Ellie? It's Jack Bauer." Ellie did a double take. She wasn't expecting that.

"Hi Jack, is Michelle okay?" she asked rather nervously.

Jack paused. "Well... could you come down here? I can explain it and... Michelle needs a ride home."

"What is it? Is she hurt?" Ellie sounded almost panicked.

"No, just-"

"She and Tony drove together this morning, why does she need a ride?"

"Ellie. Can I explain once you're here, please?" Jack was pleading at this point.

Ellie paused. "Yeah. I'll be there in twenty minutes or so."

Ellie got there in eighteen minutes- she sped. She almost ran into CTU, and Jack met her just past security. That's when he told her.

"Where is she?" Ellie asked Jack, fighting tears.

Jack tilted his head and nodded toward a room down the hall. "You ready to go get her?"

Ellie nodded.

When she entered the room, she saw Michelle, looking hardly even alive. "Chelle?" she said cautiously, sitting down next to her sister. "Chelle, it's me, I'm here."

Michelle didn't look up.

The whole way home, Michelle didn't say a word. Ellie followed her up the front steps, in the entry, through the living room and up the stairs, then paused as Michelle headed down the hall towards the master bedroom, unsure whether or not her sister wanted her there. Michelle stopped in front of the door, but didn't go in, and finally sat down with her back to the door, crying.

"I can't go in there," Ellie heard through the tears.

The two sat at the end of the hall for hours- no words being spoken, just their arms around each other and tears running down their faces. When Michelle finally fell asleep, Ellie called Kerry, who promised to be on the next flight to LA.

Ellie wasn't sure quite when it happened, but eventually, Michelle started smiling again. The possibility of Ellie going back to New York with Kerry had been discussed, but after talking to Michelle, they decided that Michelle needed Ellie more than ever right now.

Michelle acted like everything was fine- she put on her professional mask and went about her day. But Ellie still heard her crying at night sometimes. The walls were thin.


	22. Chapter 22

_I know it's short, but I think it's a little better than the last one, at least. If you didn't notice, Michelle never went to Seattle, so no, I didn't forget about that, I just couldn't fit it into my story. Also, I don't know what the real timeline is here or how much time passed between each season, so I'm really just doing my own thing. Please don't hate me. Sorry for the long author's note._

Tony came home two and a half months before Ellie graduated. Michelle would always count his homecoming as one of the happiest days of her life, but in the months that followed, she felt everything falling apart, like life was slipping through her fingers.

On one hand, Michelle didn't want this for her sister. She didn't want her in a house with... that. The drinking, mostly. Michelle knew that Ellie heard her cry, and really wanted to help, but Michelle felt herself pushing Ellie away as much as she was being pushed away by her husband. She knew that this wasn't working, but she couldn't kick Tony out. He needed her. She knew he did. And she couldn't leave her sister- that was never even an option. And most of all, she knew that leaving Tony would have to be _her _decision, for _her_, not for Ellie.

So she decided to wait until graduation, then see from there. It wasn't much of a decision, she knew that, but she took comfort in it somehow. _Wait. Just wait_.

She was walking in from the garage after work one night and overheard yelling from the family room. It didn't take her long to figure it out- Ellie was yelling at Tony for the way he was treating Michelle, and Tony was insisting that it was none of her business.

"She doesn't need you to take care of her!" Tony said. He didn't slur his words, but Michelle could tell that he had been drinking. Again.

"How would you know?" Ellie retorted. "You haven't been taking care of her. She's been taking care of me since I was born. Maybe, right now, she does need me."

Ellie turned away from Tony, trying to hide the tears she was willing not to come, but as she turned her head, she saw Michelle, standing still in the hallway. She opened her mouth to say something, but no words came.

Michelle walked into the family room. Tony looked up at her from the couch, and Ellie glanced at her, arms folded and standing on the other side of the room. She could feel it- whether they knew it or not, they were waiting for her to pick a side.

Michelle looked at Ellie. She loved Ellie. She would always love Ellie. She was her sister. She wasn't sure whether or not she needed Ellie. She supposed that she did. But Ellie didn't really need her so much. Ellie had grown up. She used to be the twelve-year-old, curls hiding her face, but now she was eighteen. Ready to move out, ready to move on, standing across the room, arms folded across her chest, curls pulled back, away from her eyes.

And then she looked at Tony. Her Tony. He'd always be her Tony. And right now, he needed her.

She sat down next to Tony on the couch. She put one arm around him, rubbed his back, held his hand. "How was your day?" she said softly.

She didn't look up, but was fully aware of the moment Ellie turned around and walked back up the stairs.


	23. Chapter 23

_Alright, this ought to be the end of the depressing chpaters. And there will be just ONE MORE chapter in the entire story. And I'll probably have it up in about 5 minutes. See, these injuries do have an up side!_

Kerry flew in for Ellie's graduation, but Tony didn't come. Michelle hadn't really expected him to, but she had been hopeful and gotten three tickets anyway.

Michelle had been right and wrong all in one. Somewhere, deep down inside, she had always known that Tony wasn't going to change, that he had changed too much in prison. But she had wanted the old Tony back so bad. She had been putting it off until graduation, and as it got closer, she saw more and more clearly what she had to do.

She watched Ellie give her speech as valedictorian, and she couldn't have been more proud. For just a second there, she almost forgot everything that was happening. But when she saw Ellie, grinning madly, throw her cap in the air, she saw much more flying away. She saw the glue of her life, who she was, going up, and, unlike the cap, not coming down. Evaporating into thin air.

Only a few days after graduation, Ellie moved to New York City, where she would be attending Columbia University on a full ride academic scholarship. Michelle had held out the tiniest bit of hope that maybe, just maybe, having the house to themselves would help things, but she wasn't the tiniest bit surprised to be wrong again. With her sister gone, it was just her, and Tony, and whatever was happening in between, and the hole where it seemed like everything good in her life was being lost forever.

Leaving was the absolute hardest thing she had ever done in her entire life. She didn't need to think twice about where to leave to- she needed her sisters more than anything. But once the initial shock and sorrow had worn off, she needed to go back to her own life. So she went to the only home she had left- work.

For the next year, she absolutely drowned herself in work. She ate, slept, breathed work, because the minute she started thinking about anything else, it hurt too much. In order to make it through, she needed life to be as simple as remembering access codes or the clicking sounds of a keyboard or giving orders and solving the problem.

More than once, she dialed his number and hung up when he answered. A few times, she put on her wedding ring just to try to remember how happily ever after felt. And every day, she wished things were different. She wished she hadn't left, she wished he hadn't changed, she wished he'd take her back, that they'd be happy again.

She had all but given up hope when she saw him again. Saw him was an understatement. Talked to him, worked with him, kissed him, almost lost him, remembered how much she cared about him.

Just when she was sure that she'd never be happy again, she saw hope. And this time, it wasn't false hope either.

Two weeks after Jack had "died," two weeks after Tony had come back into her life and she was contemplating putting her wedding ring back on her finger, she called her sister.

"Hey," Ellie said, already knowing who was calling when she answered the phone.

"How's everything?" Michelle asked, all of a sudden nervous, and not sure why.

"Umm... good," Ellie said. "Exams are almost over, but I still have a couple of hard ones left, so I'm studying my tail off. How are you?"

Michelle didn't know how to say it, other than to just blurt it out. "Tony and me, we're... Tony and I... we're trying again. Starting over."

Ellie didn't say a word, so Michelle continued, desperately trying to fill the silence. "And I left CTU. Yesterday was my last day of work. I'm not entirely sure what I'm going to do yet, but we decided that if we want this to work this time, we can't keep almost losing each other." Michelle became away that she was blabbering, and stopped.

Ellie finally responded. "Oh."

"Yeah."

"Hey, let me call you back, okay?"

Michelle nodded, even though she knew that Ellie couldn't see her. "Okay. Love you. Bye."

"Bye."

It was an entire week and a half before Michelle got a call from Ellie again.

"Dessler," she said, groggily picking up the phone and looking at her bedside clock. 3 a.m.

Ellie immediately started in talking. "Look, Michelle... I want you to be happy, so if this is going to make you happy... then I'll be happy for you... but... I don't want to see you get hurt again."

Michelle picked up where Ellie left off. "Ellie, I am happy. Happier than I've been in a long time. Since before... all this started. "And we're making this work and we both want it and I love him. And he loves me. And no one's pushing anyone away, and... Ellie, we're happy."

They sat in silence for a moment before Ellie responded. "I'm glad, Chelle."

"Are you still coming to visit next month?"

"Yeah."


	24. Chapter 24

Ellie sat on a plane, looking out the window, as she landed at the Los Angeles International Airport, thinking about the other times she had been in this situation.

She had been on a plane like this, alone, landing at this airport right after her dad died, when she had never been to LA before and was coming to live with her sister. It had been a long time since then, but she still remembered the terrifying feeling she had, despite the outward numbness.

She had come back many times from New York after visiting Kerry. Once, she had come back to an engaged Tony and Michelle. Another time, she came back to a married Tony and Michelle. And she had come back several times during her freshman year in order to comfort a once again single Michelle after leaving her husband, even though she was a poor college student and couldn't afford it.

She had come back just after her freshman year, when Tony and Michelle were starting over. She had been happy to see her sister happy again, and she had, after a while, forgiven Tony for the pain he caused both Michelle and herself. She remembered the time on that trip when he pulled her aside and apologized profusely for the past year and a half, reassuring her that he was changed, or changing, and that he loved Michelle with everything he had.

And she flown to LA to see Tony and Michelle married again. It was smaller this time, but in a way, Ellie thought, their history and everything they had been through together made it even better than the first time.

She had come back over New Year's, and Tony and Michelle had come to visit her in New York early in the spring, but she hadn't been to LA in a while, being busy double-majoring in political science and biochemistry.

Now, she was about to start her junior year. She had been working most of the summer, but came back for a quick visit before school started. She wasn't sure what was happening, but Michelle had been insistent that she come.

That night, she sat at the kitchen table in Tony and Michelle's house. "So how's Brent?" Tony asked, taking a bite of lasagna.

"_Brian,_" Ellie began, "is just fine."

"I still can't believe that you have a real boyfriend!" Michelle said.

"Woah, just how _real_ of a boyfriend is he, Elle?" Tony asked seriously.

"Do you mean have I slept with him?" Ellie asked, laughing a little bit. "No, I haven't."

Tony looked relieved, and Michelle smiled. "You should've brought him to come visit too," she said.

"Actually, he's in Vermont right now, visiting his parents and his sister Julianne. She just had her third baby."

Tony and Michelle looked at each other for just a moment across the table, but Ellie caught the glance.

"Oh my gosh! You're pregnant, aren't you?"

Michelle opened her mouth to say something, then shut it and just smiled.

"Well," Tony began, "we _were_ going to tell you a little bit differently..."

They spent hours talking- about how far along Michelle was, about what room would be the baby's room, about names, more about Ellie's boyfriend, reminiscing.

The next morning, they were all three in the kitchen when Michelle announced that there was no more milk.

"I'll go get some if you want me to," Ellie offered, seeing as she was the only one completely ready to go.

"Are you sure? Because I can go," Tony said, setting his Cubs mug down on the counter next to the already-on television.

"No, really, I'll go. But can I take one of your cars?"

"Here, take mine," Michelle said, handing her the keys.

Ellie went to grab her purse and then headed for the door. Tony leaned on the cupboard next to Michelle, and she told him how much she liked his new blue shirt. If they would've heard the news right then, they would've heard about a certain beloved president's assassination.

But they didn't hear the television. It was drowned out by the explosion.


End file.
